Tears of the Neko
by nekoangel1988
Summary: Can Sasuke help the abused Neko to find a reason to keep living? Can the neko help Sasuke discover that sometimes love comes in unexpected packages and just because he was treated badly once, it doesn't mean that he always will be. SasuNaru. DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

Itachi Uchiha wandered through the streets of Konoha, wondering what he could do to cheer his younger brother. Sasuke had been depressed after he had got his girlfriend of four years with another man. Itachi had tried to warn Sasuke about the girl, Itachi had never liked her, too him she always tried too hard to impress those that had more money than she did. He hated that Sasuke had to catch Sakura in the act, but maybe now Sasuke could put her behind him and move on with his life.

As Itachi wandered through the streets, he decided to take a look through the slave market. Who knows Itachi might be able to find a companion for Sasuke, although he knew Sasuke typically opposed the idea of having a slave. Sasuke had nothing to do with their own slaves but maybe the right companion would help Sasuke with his depression. As Itachi entered the market, his eyes drifted over the chained up neko's. Itachi knew that most of the neko's were here by their own accord, it wasn't like slavery that took the persons free will from them. Most of these people and neko's were here because they couldn't or didn't want to take care of themselves.

"Can I help you Mr. Uchiha?" a silver haired man approached Itachi. Itachi turned and faced the man.

"I'm looking for a companion for Sasuke, he's been depressed as of late and I want to someone to help cheer him up."

"I think I have just the one for you." the man said as he led Itachi down an aisle of neko's that were for sale. Itachi watched as each neko stood taller, and attempted to make themselves more presentable. Itachi wondered what made the neko's choose a life of slavery, he would think that the hybrids would value their own life and freedom. Not all neko's ended up as slaves, Itachi knew that there was a rather large group of hybrids that lived right on the outskirts of Konoha. Most neko's often came into the city to trade for food, some even owned their own business's. No one was really afraid of them though when they first started coming into Konoha, people reacted in fear of them. Itachi found the creatures fascinating and he knew that Sasuke would too, even if he didn't want a neko at first.

A few seconds later, the silver head man stopped in front of a small fenced in area. Several neko's roamed the area.

"I think the red haired one would make a good companion." The Slave Market owner told Itachi. Itachi looked at the neko the silver haired man pointed out to him. Itachi took in the well built neko, his tail was sleek and shiny and his ears stood up on his head. He was clearly a well groomed neko who took pride in his cleanliness. Still the way the neko stood and glowered at the other neko's that approached him. Itachi didn't need a neko that was moody all the time, Itachi dealt enough with a moody Sasuke as it was. Hearing a small noise, Itachi turned and saw a large cage just inside the holding pen. Kneeling in front of it, Itachi saw a sickly thin blonde haired neko, curled up in the furthest corner of the cage.

"Why is this one caged?" Itachi asked taking notice of the way the neko trembled when Itachi was near.

"I had him with the other guys, but he's not strong enough to fight for his food, so the others nearly killed him." the man explained. Itachi frowned, this neko couldn't be in good health, he really looked like he could use a good meal.

"Is he so violent that you had to put him in a cage?" Itachi asked and the market owner shook his head.

"No, he's so skittish and scared of everything. I'm afraid he's set to be put down because he is pretty much useless." Itachi frowned, he didn't like the idea of any creature being put down. Turning his attention back to the neko, Itachi noticed the scars that littered the boy's back, the scars were deep leaving no doubt that how hard that the blonde had been whipped to leave scars that deep.

"What about the scars?" Itachi asked wondering if the neko had gotten the scars while he was at the market.

"He had them when he was sold to me" the man replied "I wouldn't allow any of my animals to be treated so badly."

"It should have been against the law to hit him that hard." Itachi muttered.

"I agree." the man said.

"I'll take this one." Itachi said knowing that the blonde boy would only get put to sleep if he didn't do something.

"I'm not so sure that that is a good idea." the silver haired man said "He's scared of pretty much everything."

"Maybe it's time to show him that the entire world isn't out to hurt him." Itachi replied "Besides it would be good thing for Sasuke to have to nurture something. It just might take his attention off of what he has been going through lately."

"Okay" the man said before reaching for a leash, Itachi moved a couple steps out of the market owner's way. He watches as the man opens the cage door, and reaches in, when he can't reach the neko's collar, the silver haired man reaches out and grabs the neko's tail, pulling him as gently as possible. The blonde neko hisses fearfully as he attempts to dig his claws into the cage.

"Come on, someone wants to take you home with him," the man said as he finally gets the blonde out of the cage. Clipping the leash to the collar, Kabuto hands the leash over to Itachi.

Now that the blonde was free from the cage, Itachi could really get a good look at him. He could see the boy's ribs, the boy was thinner than he had originally thought. As his eyes trailed up and down the boy, he noticed that the neko kept his eyes on the ground, and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"What's your name?" Itachi asked and Kabuto shook his head.

"He hasn't spoken a word since he was brought here. I don't know if he knows how or not." Itachi frowned, what had happened to the young neko that the boy was terrified of the world around him. He wasn't sure if he would end up being good for Sasuke, but Itachi wasn't going to leave him hear to die.

After Itachi payed for the neko, he tugged on the leash and started towards the exit. Upon hearing a gag esacping the blonde, Itachi turned and his eyes found the choker collar.

"Why does he have a choker? Was a leather collar not good enough?" Itachi asked, immediately growing aggravated. He loosened his grip on the leash and the collar loosened around the neko's neck.

"He will attempt to bolt and he won't listen to anything anyone tells him, that's why he has a choker collar." Kabuto said. Itachi frowned, before returning his gaze to the blonde boy.

"Come" Itachi told him gently, not wanting to frighten the other. The blonde kept his gaze on the ground but he followed Itachi up the road to where the Uchiha complex was.

Upon entering the house, Itachi led the blonde called Naruto, to Sasuke's room.

"Sasuke isn't home right now" Itachi informed him "but its okay for you to wait for him here." Naruto flinched as Itachi reached up and removed the leash.

"I will work on getting you your own room but for now, just wait here." Itachi said as he gently shoved Naruto into the room. Itachi watched as Naruto crawled under the bed, and curled up in a tight ball in the furthest corner. Itachi shook his head, he hoped that Sasuke could help Naruto and that Naruto could help Sasuke.

"Why are you in my room?" an irritated voice asked from behind him.

"I brought you a present" Itachi said and smiled when Sasuke frowned. "he's currently hiding under your bed." Sasuke walked over and knelt down and looked under the bed, jumping back when a sharp hiss came from the furthest corner.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" Sasuke asked as he pushed himself to his feet.  
"I think you could help him and he can help you." Itachi said as he backed out of Sasuke's room.

"He keeps hissing at me he just might get hit." Sasuke muttered as he flopped down on his bed.

"Once he comes out, I think you will change your mind on that." Itachi said.

 **TBC? This story has nothing to do with The Lost Neko but it is a SasuNaru story. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Naruto lay curled under the bed, wondering if his new owners would prove to be like his previous owners. He hoped not, he had already been through enough hell, he didn't need anymore. As he lay there, his fingers began gently working through the matted fur on his tail, he hated that he was so dirty, but the man at the market hadn't given him much of a chance to prove that he could get along with the other neko's. Of course, because Naruto was so small he didn't have enough strength to fight for his food, which is why Kabuto had him put in a cage.

Hearing the sound of the door open, his ears twitched before standing straight as he listened for the footsteps, hearing them stop at the bed, Naruto pressed himself against the wall. Naruto watched as a dark haired man peek under the bed, Naruto hissed and growled lowly, feeling unsure of the others intentions.

"Come here" the man said softly "no one is going to hurt you here, this I can promise." Still Naruto remained pressed against the wall. His blue eyes stared at the man, sensing no ill intention from him, still you never knew about people. Naruto had thought that he could trust people but then they had turned around and hurt him.

"I know your hungry, I have food for you." another voice said, and Naruto found himself staring into a younger version of the man that had bought him. "My brother insisted on buying, I'm not going to allow you to starve yourself." Naruto heaved out a breath, before slowly edging his way out from under the bed.

"That's it" the younger kid said softly backing up to give Naruto the space to come out. Naruto gave him a weary look as the dark haired boy scooted the plate of food towards him. Naruto frowned and bent his head, smelling of it. When he didn't smell anything that didn't belong there, Naruto picked up a slice of the chicken and brought it to his mouth. Savoring, the taste, Naruto finished the small plate of food within a few minutes. Pushing the plate away, Naruto lowered his gaze to the floor before sliding back under the bed, back to his corner. He heard the dark haired kid heave a sigh.

"Did he eat?" Naruto heard the one called Itachi say as he reentered the room.

"He did, but then he went back under the bed." Sasuke said frowning down at the spot where the neko had disappeared. "Why did you have to get this one? He's scared of everything."

"He was going to be put down." Itachi said "I thought that maybe you could help him."

"I could if he wanted help" Sasuke muttered "but apparently all he wants to do is hide. Does he even know how to talk?"

"I don't know, Kabuto said he hadn't said a word since he bought him." Itachi replied "I think he's been hurt very badly in his lifetime." Sasuke frowned, the neko looked to be a little younger than he was. Sasuke couldn't imagine being hurt so much that he became scared of everything. Sasuke frowned and bent down and started crawling under his own bed, stopping only when he heard the small hiss coming from the scared neko.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sasuke told him softly reaching out with his hand, ignoring the flinch as he gently touched the flat ears. Sasuke stroked softly hoping that eventually the neko would grow accustomed to his touch. Naruto frowned at him, before looking down and allowing Sasuke to continue to stroke his ears.

"I don't know what happened to you before" Sasuke murmured "but I can promise that you will be safe here. We always treat our slaves well, I won't ever make you do something you don't want to do." Naruto raised his blue eyes to meet Sasuke's eyes, before lowering to the floor again.

Sensing that the neko had had enough attention, Sasuke backed out from under the bed to find, Itachi staring at him.

"What?" Sasuke asked irritably as he wiped at some dust that had fallen into his hair.

"Have a nice conversation?" Itachi asked.

"If you can call it that with only one person talking" Sasuke said "I don't think he's used to much positive interaction with people."

"Makes me wonder about his past" Itachi said "surely they didn't beat the trust right out of him."

"Probably did" Sasuke said as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, and started towards the door. "Until he's comfortable around us, I guess he can stay in here, once he's okay with his surroundings he should get his own room."

As he exited the room and shut the door behind him, Sasuke turned and faced his brother.

"How is that creature supposed to help me? He's scared of his own damn shadow." Sasuke said.

"I trust that you will find a way, maybe it will open your eyes to the fact that you are not the only person in the world that's hurting." Itachi pointed out, and Sasuke growled.

"I am well aware that that I'm not the only person that hurts. But it hasn't been that long since I found out. I think that I deserve a little time to mourn what was lost."

"You do deserve that" Itachi said "but you are wallowing in it and letting it take you over."

"I am not." Sasuke muttered as he started down the hall just to get away from his brother. He didn't really see the need for an abused neko either, he didn't think it had been a wise decision on his brother's part to bring him home, when they had enough slaves as it was. Though the more Sasuke thought about it he supposed that Itachi had done the right thing. He wouldn't want to see an innocent neko, slave or not be put down, just because he was deemed useless.

Sighing, Sasuke stepped outside onto the balcony that over looked a large field. Closing his eyes, he tried to forget the image of Sakura going at it with Sasuke's cousin Shisui. Sasuke had always known that Shisui had had a sort of crush on Sakura, however he hadn't thought that his own cousin would betray him in such a way. As he sat there he couldn't help but wonder how long Shisui and Sakura had been sleeping together. Sakura had refused to sleep with Sasuke, claiming that she wanted to save herself for marriage, clearly she had only wanted to be save herself for Shisui. How did Sasuke move on from that? It made him feel like he was less than a man because she refused him but accepting his cousin. Not only did it made Sasuke feel like he was less, but it also made him look like a fool. Who knows how long Sakura had been sleeping around. Despite what Itachi had said, Sasuke couldn't just let go of the fact that his girlfriend had cheated on him with his own cousin.

As Sasuke stood there, he saw Sakura and Shisui coming up the drive, holding hands. Sasuke scowled down at them, noticing that Sakura didn't even seem broken hearted at losing Sasuke. That told Sasuke all that he needed to know, she had been using Sasuke to get to Shisui. Ignoring the ache in his heart, Sasuke turned and walked back into the house. He really wished that Itachi would ban Shisui from coming around, but he knew his brother wouldn't do that, no matter how much it hurt Sasuke to see him. Upon reentering the house, Sasuke made his way back to his bedroom, opening the door he closed it quietly before making his way to his bed and laying down.

Hearing movement from underneath the bed, Sasuke turned his head and watched as the neko slowly climbed out. Naruto made his way slowly to the window, and sat down beside it and proceeded to begin cleaning the matted fur on his tail. Hearing a loud noise, the neko jumped and hissed, startled.

"It's okay you know" Sasuke spoke up softly "someone just slammed a door." Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke, flinching at the sound of the others voice.

"You don't have to hide you know" Sasuke said gently watching as Naruto began making his way back to his bed. "It's okay to be afraid but you don't have to hide all the time." the neko just shrugged before dropping to his knees and sliding back under the bed. Sasuke sighed, he couldn't even get the neko to like him. What use was he? Turning over he buried his face into his pillow, he just wished this day was over already.

Why did Sasuke have to fall in love with someone like Sakura? He should have known that he wouldn't ever be good enough, he hadn't been good enough for his own parents, so why would he matter enough for a girl? Sasuke breathed in deeply, holding for a second before releasing it. He shouldn't focus on the things that didn't matter anymore, but he couldn't the pain he had felt when he had seen how happy Sakura had been with Shisui. He wished he could take Itachi's advice and just forget about her, but Sasuke had dated Sakura for four years, it had been impossible for his heart to not get involved. Now it felt like his heart had been shattered and could never be fixed again. Sasuke really didn't see how he would be able to help Naruto to be able to trust, when Sasuke wasn't sure how to help himself.

Sitting up, Sasuke reached over to his night stand and pulled out this pocket knife, flipping the blade open, Sasuke brought the blade to his skin and made a small cut until a small line of blood fell. Sasuke made another few cuts before cleaning his knife and putting it back in his hiding spot. Afterward he placed a couple band aids on the cuts and laid back down. Itachi had no idea that Sasuke liked to cut and if Sasuke had his way he would never find out.

Laying back on his bed, Sasuke closed his eyes, but reopened them when he heard movement coming from under the bed. Turning his head, he found himself staring into the blue eyes of his neko.

Naruto had been lying under the bed, nearly asleep when the strong scent of blood hit him. Frowning, Naruto crawled out from under the bed to see where the blood was coming from. To Naruto's surprise the scent was coming off the boy that had taken the time to try and calm him. Sasuke frowned at the neko wondering what had brought the boy out of hiding, it was only when Naruto's nose was pressed to his arm that he realized that Naruto, having better senses than humans, could no doubt smell the blood from his cutting.

"I'm okay" Sasuke said softly "those cuts will heal in a couple of days." Naruto frowned at him, before sinking back onto his haunches and staring up at him, his ears twitching curiously. Sasuke reached out and gently stroked the yellow ears, marveling at how soft they were. Naruto closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch until the slamming of another door startled him, his ears fell flat against his head, and he hissed fearfully and dived back under the bed. Sasuke sighed, and closed his eyes, and his breathing slowed until he was fast asleep.

 **Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And if you are homophobic DO NOT READ. It makes no sense to me that if a person doesn't like that particular genre that would even be reading it to begin with, and leaving nasty reviews like telling me to go kill myself (happened on another site that I posted this story) is ridiculous. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once, Sasuke's breathing evened out and Naruto could tell that he was asleep, he slid out from under the bed and made his way back to the window. Laying down in front of it, Naruto enjoyed the feel of the sun coming through the glass and warming him. Closing his eyes, Naruto found himself drifting off to sleep, enjoying the peace that had seemed like had finally found him.

" _Mom, Dad" A young Naruto cried out in joy as he spotted both his parents coming towards him. They hadn't been gone that long but still Naruto didn't care, he didn't like being separated from them, even though he was now ten years old and more than capable of taking care of himself for a little while._

" _Calm down Son" his father laughed as Naruto pounced on him as soon as he was close enough. "You would think we have been gone for years." Minato said as he looked over at his wife. Minato had yellow ears and tail while his wife, Kushina had red ears and tail. Minato had met Kushina 12 years ago when he had gone into Konoha to trade some furs that he had. It had been love at first sight for the two neko's. They had courted briefly before they had gotten married and then Naruto had come along two years later. Minato didn't think it was possible to be any happier than he was when he was with his family._

 _Though of late, some slave hunters were trying to buy Naruto from him and Kushina. Minato loving Naruto refused to give his son over, because he had heard of the things the slave hunters done to the slaves they captured. Minato was not going to allow Naruto to experience that. So far Minato had been able to fend them off, but the hunters were becoming more determined. And Minato could easily admit to becoming worried, he didn't want anything to happen to his family._

" _Naruto we were only gone a couple of hours." Kushina said as she smiled at the father and son currently embroiled in a wrestling match. She watched them for a few minutes before disappearing into their cabin. Suddenly though she got a strong sense of danger, stopping, her ears twitched as she listened for anything that would point towards danger._

" _I didn't think you and your husband would ever return" A harsh voice spoke from the darkness. "I'm done messing with you, I'm taking the little one and your not going to stop me."_

" _Yes, I will" Kushina hissed and growled "I won't allow you to lay a hand on my son."_

" _I plan on doing more than laying my hands on him." The man hissed as he raised his gun, and shoved her towards the door and back out onto the porch._

" _I think I have something you want." The man yelled at Minato who was still wrestling with Naruto. "I will give you your wife for your son."_

" _Don't" Kushina mouthed to Minato shaking her head. "Don't give Naruto up."_

" _Its your wife's life if you don't hand him over." The hunter said as he pressed the gun against Kushina's temple. Minato and Naruto both looked panicked. Minato didn't want to hand Naruto over, but he didn't want to lose his wife either, they were both precious to him. Tears formed in Kushina's eyes as she looked down at Naruto. She knew from this moment on, Naruto's life would probably be more difficult no matter what happened, because there was no winning in this situation._

" _Mom" Naruto cried as he breaks out of his father's hold and he rushes towards the porch, only to be slugged roughly in the stomach, leaving him gasping for air on the ground. Naruto can only raise his head and watch in terror as the hunter holding his mother, pulls the trigger on the gun, taking Naruto's mother's life instantly._

 _Blood sprayed Naruto's eyes as he stared in shock as the hunter dropped his mother's body carelessly to the ground. He started walking towards Naruto, reaching down and grabbing him by the back of his neck._

" _He belongs to me now" The hunter told Minato as he raised the gun and shot Minato point blank in the chest._

" _Father!" Naruto screamed as tears began to pour from his eyes._

" _Shut up runt." the hunter growled as he roughly dropped Naruto to the ground, before placing a choke collar around Naruto's neck and clipping it to a leash, before tying his arms tightly behind him._

" _I won't have you making any trouble." The hunter murmured into Naruto's ear, as he reached down into Naruto's pants and gripped him roughly. Naruto squeaked and tried to pull away but it was useless, he was bound too tightly._

" _I don't think I can sell you to the mines for a few years since your so small" The hunter murmured "But I can afford to keep you until your big enough to sell."pulling his hand out of Naruto's pants, the hunter proceeded to shove him towards his wagon where, several other hunters were waiting around._

" _I told you getting this runt would be easy, it only took murdering his parents." the hunter laughed cruelly ignoring the tears in the young neko's hunter tied the end of Naruto's leash to the wagon before climbing in and swishing the reins, making the weary horses move. Naruto gagged as the leash pulled tightly around his throat forcing him to nearly run to keep up with the wagon and to avoid choking. Naruto cried silently as he was forced to keep a cruel pace with the wagon for a few hours. It was only after dark that the hunters stopped. \_

 _Naruto collapsed onto the ground, once the movement stopped, not caring that his movement was forcing his to stretch his neck so that he could breathe._

" _Having a hard time?" the man with the snake like features asked grinning down at him, unhooking the leash from the wagon, the hunter dragged Naruto into the woods, where the man stripped him of his clothes and beat him into near unconsciousness before having his way with him. When he was finished he dragged the small neko back into the camping area, where Naruto was pulled into the air by the rope tied around his wrists, he was high enough his feet could barely touch the ground forcing Naruto to hold himself up by his wrists. As Naruto hung there, his wrists burning from the ropes, Naruto glared and hissed, wanting nothing more than to go back to his parents bodies and to die with them. He could still feel the blood running down his legs, and he hated the way the other men were staring at him._

" _Do whatever you want to him." The man called Orochimaru said "but keep him alive, I want to be able to sell him." from there, the other men took turns whipping him as hard as they could manage, not caring that they were ripping the small neko's skin, they ignored his cries of pain as a few chose to have their way with him._

 _This went on for the next five years, until Naruto could no longer voice his fear and his shame. The hunters were pleased that Naruto was undernourished and seemed broken beyond repair mentally. The abuse not only affected Naruto mentally but physically as well, the lack of food made Naruto painfully thin, his skin stretched tightly over his ribs, giving him a gaunt appearance, not only that but the constant beatings had affected his height, the boy remained the same size as he had been when he had been captured. It was only after Naruto had been so broken, that he was fearful of anyone coming near him that Orochimaru decided to sell him at the slave market. From there Naruto had been put in with the other neko's but he had been unable to fight for his own food and he had been roughly used when the other males went into heat. So the Kabuto decided that it would be best to put the boy into a cage and hope that someone would want him, it was either that or he would put the miserable beast out of his misery._

Naruto jerked awake, as the sound of a door shutting not so quietly awoke him from his nightmare. Naruto fearfully climbed to his feet as Sasuke's door opened and anther dark haired man that Naruto hadn't seen entered the room.

"Itachi said he bought Sasuke a pet" the man said approaching the blonde who cowered into the corner, fear flooding his veins making him tremble. Naruto's ears pressed flat against his head, and he hissed as he pressed himself against the window.

"Looks like a feisty one too" Shisui said as he reached down and tugged on Naruto's ear, causing the neko to hiss and try to back away. "I will admit he is a good looking little pet. What does Sasuke need with you." Shisui reached down and roughly ran his hand down Naruto's chest, causing the boy to hiss again.

"Do you not talk?" Shisui asked "if that's the case Sasuke should certainly put you down, he has no need for someone like you." As Shisui poked him again, Naruto bared his fangs, hissing before burying his teeth into Shisui's wrist, not caring that he drew blood as the dark haired boy yanked his wrist out of Naruto's mouth. Without thinking Shisui drew his foot back and slammed it as hard as he could into Naruto's ribs, making a loud snapping sound.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" an angry Sasuke demanded when he heard the loud yowl of pain came from Naruto.

"He attacked me!" Shisui said glaring down at the gasping blonde, who trembled in fear.

"Any animal, when backed into a corner, will attack" Sasuke said glaring "and from what I can tell you obviously deserved. What the hell are you doing in here anyways."

"Itachi told me about your furry friend. I wanted to see him myself, if he gets anywhere near me, make no mistake I will shoot him." Shisui said glaring at Sasuke before turning and storming out of the room, slamming the door as he went.

Sasuke glared at the door, before turning and kneeling down beside the harshly panting neko. Naruto hissed softly as Sasuke reached out and touched the already bruising ribs.

"Shhh." Sasuke said gently "I'm not going to hurt you." he turned as his door opened and his brother entered the room.

"What got Shisui so pissed.?" Itachi asked.

"He got mad because he hurt Naruto and Naruto returned the favor" Sasuke replied. "I think Shisui broke a couple of his ribs, so do me a favor and fetch Tsunade would you?"

"Shisui does have a temper." Itachi muttered shaking his head. Before pulling his phone out and calling for the doctor. Naruto whimpered in pain bringing both boys attention back to the neko.

"I'm going to get you fixed up" Sasuke said softly reaching up and gently stroking Naruto's ears. "You won't be hurting too much longer." Naruto blinked back tears at the gentle tone of Sasuke's voice. Reaching out, Naruto gently nudged Sasuke's hand with his head. Sasuke blinked, that was the first time that Naruto himself had reached out for Sasuke's touch, the other times Sasuke had to initiate contact himself. Sasuke returned to stroking Naruto's soft ears, hoping that the movement would be enough to distract Naruto from his pain.

"Shisui said he would shoot Naruto the next time he saw him." Sasuke told Itachi as Tsunade entered the room, carrying her medical kit. "My advice would be to keep him in the East side of the manor so their paths will not cross. If it comes down to it, I will choose Naruto over him."

"He's your cousin." Itachi pointed out.

"He also screwed my girlfriend the entire time I was dating her." Sasuke replied "Family doesn't do that."

"You do have a point, but at some point you are going to have to forgive him." Itachi said.

"Not right now I don't" Sasuke said watching as Tsunade touched the injured ribs making Naruto hiss in pain.

"Watch it!" Sasuke snapped at the doctor, not liking that she was causing the neko more pain.

"I'm being as careful as I can." Tsunade replied "he has two broken ribs, there is no pain free way of treating that." Sasuke huffed out a breath and returned to distracting Naruto from the pain. Finally Naruto's ribs were wrapped, and Sasuke had helped the neko over to his bed, where he lay Naruto down on top of the covers.

"I promise I won't allow anyone else to harm you." Sasuke murmured trying to ignore the site of the scars on Naruto's back. He couldn't imagine what the boy had been through to get them.

"I'll make sure Shisui sticks to the East side from now on." Itachi said "There is no reason for him to be cruel to anyone human or hybrid." Sasuke nodded.

"He's going to be sore for a couple of weeks" Tsunade told Sasuke "So no rough housing with him."

"At the moment he kind of prefers hiding to interacting with anyone." Sasuke replied "I figure eventually he will figure out he can trust us." A few minutes later Tsunade left, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone. Naruto was nearly asleep when Sasuke turned towards the door himself, however a small whine from the injured Naruto stopped him in his tracks and he turned around to see Naruto watching him. He whined again softly, and Sasuke walked over and sat down on the floor beside the bed, and Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke's hand. Sasuke smiled softly as the other began to drift to sleep. How did the neko trust him so much already? Sasuke didn't think he really deserved it, he didn't think that he had really earned it. Sasuke wanted Naruto to trust him, and he didn't mind working for it. He had the feeling that Naruto needed him as much as Sasuke needed Naruto.

 **SO I gave you guys a part of Naruto's past, he will eventually tell Sasuke. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz**

 **PS. The Sound of Madness will be updated next!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Naruto drifted off to sleep quickly with Sasuke sitting beside him. Once he was asleep, Sasuke stood and exited his room. He would find a way to pay Shisui back for what he had to the neko, he would make sure of it. He wondered why Shisui had ever gone into his room in the first place when Shisui knew how Sasuke felt about him. Could Sakura have put him up to it? If so, why? How would she have found out about the neko so quickly? Could it have an accident that Naruto had been discovered? Sakura could have sent Shisui into his room to search for where he had hidden his money. Sasuke tended to not trust the banks so he made sure that he kept all his savings well hidden. Now that Sasuke thought about it, Sakura always liked to eat out at the most expensive restaurants, always had to have the most expensive gifts otherwise she would be upset with Sasuke for days. Frowning, Sasuke wondered how he hadn't realized how money hungry she was. It wouldn't surprise Sasuke if Sakura had sent Shisui to do her dirty work. Good thing he had hidden his money well.

Scowling, Sasuke stormed towards the east side of the building, he was determined he was going to have it out with Shisui one way or the other.

"Where do you think you are going little brother?" Itachi asked, stepping into the hall when he saw the direction Sasuke was heading.

"I need to talk with Shisui" Sasuke replied "I had a thought occur to me and I want to see if what I was thinking was correct."

"I don't think you want to cross him right now, he's still pissed." Itachi warned.

"What's he got to be pissed about? He's the one that got Naruto cornered. How could he not expect for Naruto to not attack him." Sasuke said.

"You know how Shisui gets when he's angry. He gets violent and I don't want to see you get hurt because of his anger." Itachi said "If he lays a finger on you, I will kill himself." Sasuke scowled, but he knew Itachi was right. Sasuke had seen what had happened to people who crossed Shisui when he was angry.

"Your best bet is to go back to Naruto and stay with him, until Shisui gets his temper under control." Itachi said.

"I strongly suspect that him and Sakura were after my money. That would explain Shisui being in my room without permission, that wanting to see the neko excuse is just that an excuse."

"How do you know they are after your money?" Itachi asked.

"It's just a feeling that I have" Sasuke said "Sakura has always been money hungry, I wouldn't put it past her to use Shisui to get to it, for what I don't know." Itachi frowned, he had known that Sakura was money crazy but that she was willing to go that far to use Shisui to get to it was more than he could understand. She had always acted like she was crazy about Shisui, more so than she had ever been about Sasuke. Could it be true that she was also only using Shisui? If that was the case if Shisui found out, shit would hit the fan and all hell would break lose.

"That's a lot of guessing" Itachi said "I guess we can always wait for her to slip up because eventually it's going to happen." Sasuke nodded.

"Yes, but I have a feeling something is going to happen before too long." he said before he turned and headed back to his room. Sasuke figured Shisui would find some way to get even with Sasuke's neko before anything else would happen with Sakura.

Entering his room, he heard soft whimpering coming from the bed, Sasuke made his way over and sat down gently on the bed so that he wouldn't jar Naruto's ribs, before reaching out and gently stroking the cat's ears.

At the touch, Naruto opened his eyes and found Sasuke sitting beside him.

"What's wrong little one?" Sasuke asked softly, knowing that Naruto wouldn't answer but still wanting the other to get used to his voice. Naruto mewled softly before sitting up, and shifting his position on the bed, so that he could easily rest his head on Sasuke's lap. Once Naruto was situated with his head resting comfortably on Sasuke's lap, he closed his eyes enjoying the feel of Sasuke's fingers on his ears.

Sasuke smiled down at the sleeping neko in his lap, it warmed his heart that the neko had warmed up to him so quickly. Looking at the scars on his back, it was a wonder that the neko would even allow Sasuke to touch him. Sasuke couldn't blame the neko for not trusting people. Sasuke continued stroking Naruto's ears, enjoying the soft purring that could be heard. He hoped that whatever Shisui had planned that he could be able to put a stop to it before Shisui could ever accomplish it. Sasuke didn't like seeing Naruto hurt, especially when Sasuke knew that he could prevent it. He would do whatever it took to make sure that Naruto knew that he could be safe with him and Itachi.

Sighing, Sasuke continued stroking the soft furry ears as he turns and looks out the window. Would he ever find someone that would be able to accept him for who he was and not his money? Why was it that people only seemed that women were after his money? Were there any honest women left?

Growling under his breath, Sasuke reached over, careful not to jar Naruto too much, grabbed his knife off of the bed table. Flicking the blade open, Sasuke made a thin cut on his arm and watched as a small line of blood appeared, he watched as it slowly ran down his arm. Sasuke made another small cut just above the other and watched as the two small streams of blood came together. Closing his eyes, Sasuke enjoyed the feeling of release, he usually didn't cut unless something serious happened, but Sasuke was feeling stressed knowing that he could only wait for Shisui to attempt to make a move on his neko. Sasuke didn't like waiting, he wanted to deal with Shisui before the problem came down to Shisui hurting Naruto. However, Itachi was right, they would have to wait until the older Uchiha made his move so that they could have the proof that they needed to convict him. In the meantime he would still have to find proof that Sakura was using Shisui and even if she was, Shisui wouldn't be easily forgiven for breaking Naruto's ribs. Sasuke was determined that Shisui would pay and Sakura too if he could prove anything.

Suddenly Sasuke felt a rough tongue gently licking at his arm, Sasuke opened his eyes to find Naruto gently licking at the bloody cuts. Sasuke watched until the neko finished and looked up at him with bright blue eyes.

"I know you probably don't understand why I feel the need to cut." Sasuke mumbled "but it's the only way I can release my feelings without being judged." Naruto's ears twitched and blinked up at Sasuke and lay his head down on Sasuke's lap again, somehow managing to stare up at Sasuke. "I hate feeling like I can't talk to Itachi but if I did he would probably find a way to lock me up for feeling this way." Sasuke mumbled looking down at the neko who lay contentedly in his lap, his ears forward and his tail twitching on the bed, ending up curling up around Sasuke's thigh. Sasuke gave the neko a small smile, before reaching out and gently touching Naruto's ribs, causing the neko to flinch.

"I'm sorry" Sasuke apologized wondering if it was time to give Naruto some pain medicine. Naruto gave him a soft wine and nudged Sasuke's hand with his head. Sasuke chuckled and returned to stroking Naruto's ears.

"How is it you trust me so much already?" Sasuke wondered "I haven't done anything to deserve it." when Sasuke stopped stroking his ears, Naruto leaned sat up and gently licked Sasuke's cheek before crawling up the bed and curling into a small ball and closing his eyes. Sasuke chuckled, noticing that the neko had left enough room for him to lie down beside him. Climbing off the bed, Sasuke pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor before crawling under the covers beside a sleeping Naruto.

Sasuke awoke a few hours later, to the soft sound of pained whimpers coming from beside him, sitting up, Sasuke flipped on the light and turned towards Naruto. The neko was shivering beside him, and letting lose soft pained cries. Sasuke reached over and placed his hand on Naruto's back and gently rubbed circles into the back, gently soothing the boy until the cries stopped and Naruto was once again sound asleep. Sasuke lay back on his side of the bed, but not before gently pulling the sleeping neko into his arms, determined to keep the nightmares that seemed to plague Naruto away from him. One of these days he would have to find out what had happened that had made Naruto so afraid, Sasuke knew it wouldn't be good. But maybe he would be able to help Naruto to not be so afraid of those that were around him.

 **I know it's short but thanks for reading and reviewing/commenting. Hope you enjoyed Liz**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sasuke awoke feeling like he was being smothered, and as he opened his eyes. He found Naruto lying onto of him, the blonde's forehead buried in Sasuke's neck. Each breath that Sasuke released tickled the neko's ear and made it twitch. Sasuke chuckled at the sight even though he found it was a little hard to breath with the small creature lying right on his chest.

"Hey, Naruto, you might want to wake up." Sasuke said softly, trying not to startle the neko. Naruto shifted his head, burying his face further into Sasuke's neck, the neko's breath tickling Sasuke's neck. Sasuke raised his free hand and ran it down Naruto's back, causing Naruto to shiver before opening his eyes. When Naruto released where he was he leaped up so quickly that he startled Sasuke.

"Easy" Sasuke said slowly sitting up, "Don't forget your broken ribs." Naruto frowned at him before slowly climbing off the bed.

"I have an idea" Sasuke said softly "Why don't you come down to breakfast with me?" Sasuke knew the neko probably wouldn't like that idea but Naruto had to start getting used to the people around him. Sasuke didn't want Naruto to constantly feel afraid. Naruto frowned at Sasuke, giving the idea some thought. Naruto knew that Sasuke would probably be disappointed if he didn't go, but he still wasn't sure about the other guy that had come into the room yesterday, the one that had broken his ribs. He was afraid that that guy would hurt him again.

"You don't have to be so afraid. No one is going to hurt you here." Sasuke said soothingly. "besides I won't leave you alone. I promise to protect you." Naruto heaved a small sigh and nodded. Sasuke smiled before reaching out and giving Naruto's ears a gentle tug.

Sasuke climbed out of bed, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes before heading into his restroom to get changed and take a shower. When Sasuke returned he found Naruto sitting in the window staring out at the open field.

"Maybe later we can go outside after breakfast." Sasuke said knowing that Naruto could probably use some air after being cooped up since he had been brought here. Naruto turned and nodded, before following Sasuke out the door. Upon entering the kitchen, Naruto stood as close to Sasuke as possible, as if trying to hide himself behind Sasuke.

"It's okay" Sasuke whispered to Naruto knowing that the neko could easily hear him. "You don't have to be so afraid, it's only going to be Itachi this morning." He lead Naruto towards the kitchen table, and pulled a chair out for Naruto to sit in. Sasuke sat down beside Naruto, and across from his brother.

"Good morning." Itachi smiled at Naruto who nodded and stared down at the table. Sasuke reached out and gently tugged on Naruto's ear, causing the neko to look up at Sasuke's smiling face. Naruto frowned, and tugged his ear away from Sasuke's fingers and continued looking down at the table.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring him out?" Itachi asked softly.

"He has to get used to people eventually" Sasuke replied "He is going to need to learn how to trust before he gets better."

"Well, thrusting him out among everyone probably isn't the way to do it" Itachi said before an annoyed voice interrupted them.

"What the hell is that furball doing at the table?" Sakura said as she entered the room following Shisui. "Shouldn't he be eating with the dogs."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke hissed glaring at Sakura and Shisui. "I would have thought that after yesterday you would do your best to avoid me."

"I have a right to eat too." Shisui said shooting an angry glare at Naruto, who shivered in his seat.

"Don't you dare look at him." Sasuke said "and as far as eating goes you have a kitchen on the east side, you have no reason to be here." Shisui smirked and sat down across from Naruto and beside Itachi. Sakura sitting on the other side of Shisui looking at Naruto, a pure look of disgust on her face.

"Shisui this is not a good time, and Sasuke is right you don't have to be in this particular kitchen." Itachi stated, knowing that Shisui was there only to cause trouble.

"I don't want to be in that kitchen, I am an Uchiha after all." Shisui stated "I can be wherever I want, besides he needs to get used to me since he's going to be living here and all."

"Back the hell off" Sasuke hissed, feeling the rising panic in Naruto's ever increasingly stiff posture. He should have known that his cousin would try something like this, Sasuke had thought that Naruto was doing well with being around him and then Shisui had to come and cause trouble. Sasuke reached out and gently pried Naruto's claws off the chair handle. He squeezed the hang gently, before leaning over and whispering in Naruto's ear.

"Go back to the room, I'll be back as soon as I deal with this asshat." Sasuke said softly, Naruto nodded and pushed himself away from the table. Sasuke watched the quivering form quickly leave the room. Sasuke hated subjecting Naruto to Shisui and Sakura. If he had his way, he would have kicked Shisui and Sakura out a long time ago.

"Afraid to let the neko near me?" Shisui asked smirking at Sasuke, his eyes on the neko's back as he exited the room.

"Considering that you've already hurt him once, I don't want him anywhere near you." Sasuke hissed, growing more and more irritated.

"Calm down Sasuke" Itachi said softly "Shisui, if you keep picking fights I'll make sure you won't be allowed to leave the east side."

"I'll still end up killing that neko" Shisui muttered under his breath loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

"You touch one more hair on him and I will slit your throat." Sasuke yelled shoving himself away from the table.

"You should really get him checked out Itachi." Shisui said "he's making threats to harm me. I would say he deserves to be put in a mental ward."

"Shisui." Itachi warned, his eyes narrowing at his cousin. He had expected trouble but not this. He couldn't help but wonder what other cards Shisui would play before the end.

"I'm going to have your brother locked up if he gets anywhere near me." Shisui said glaring at Sasuke as Sasuke stormed out of the kitchen, "And then I will make sure that wretched creature suffers a miserable death."

"If you try anything with Sasuke, I will bring hell down on your head" Itachi hissed, growing tired of his cousin's games. "Nor will you touch a hair on Naruto's head, he's suffered more than you could possibly even imagine, he doesn't deserve to be put through even more hell."

"Just you wait" Shisui warned "I will take Sasuke's life and then Naruto's both while you watch and there won't be anything you can do about it."

"You get onto Sasuke for threatening" Itachi said "don't you think you could get in trouble for the same thing."

"Nope" Shisui said "It would be Sakura's and my word against yours and I'm pretty sure they will believe me over you." Itachi frowned wondering just how thought out Shisui's plans were. He had the feeling that they wouldn't have long to wait to find out.

"Get the hell out of here." Itachi said, annoyed that his breakfast had been ruined. If anything Shisui's words warned of dangerous plans and Itachi couldn't help but wonder how deeply involved that Sakura was. He watched the two laugh as they left the kitchen. Itachi knew he was right about one thing hell was about to break loose all around and Itachi wasn't sure that he would be the one bringing it.

Sasuke couldn't believe Shisui had the nerve to bother showing up at breakfast spouting off his bullshit. Growling, Sasuke stormed into his room to find find the room empty, frowning Sasuke wondered where Naruto could have gone. Just then Sasuke heard a small whimper and it sounded like it was coming from under his bed, kneeling down, Sasuke found Naruto squeezed back into the corner, his body quivering in fear. Squeezing under the bed, Sasuke reached out and gently touched Naruto's ear, startling the neko causing Naruto to hiss and bare his teeth at Sasuke.

"It's okay" Sasuke said softly pulling his hand back. Just seeing how scared Naruto was, made Sasuke want to go back to the kitchen and knock the hell out of Shisui.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke heard Itachi called out before entering the room and closing the door behind him. Sasuke frowned at the fearful neko before backing out from under the bed.

"What do you need?" Sasuke asked taking note of the worried look in Itachi's eyes.

"I have reason to believe that Shisui is going to try to kill you before killing Naruto." Itachi stated. "I think Shisui has gone beyond insanity. I may think that he may end up trying to get you locked up or murdered, and I am leaning towards the murder option. You really pissed him off by defending the neko."

"What are we going to do about it?" Sasuke asked "I'm pretty sure he won't put any kind of plot into action while we are suspicious of him, he will likely wait until a moment we aren't even thinking about it anymore."

"I think for the time being, I am going to have you switch rooms with me. There are several different escape routes that either you or Naruto could use if something happens."

"That might work because as far as I know Shisui doesn't know anything about the escape routes." Itachi said. "I think it would be wise to move all your money to another hiding spot as well. I won't put anything past them." Sasuke sighed and sat down heavily on the bed.

"Where the hell is all the evidence that they are planning on doing this so we can turn it over to the authorities?" Sasuke wondered. "And another thing Naruto is back under the bed again, I don't know how we will get him out from under there to transfer rooms."

"Shisui scared him that bad?" Itachi asked and Sasuke nodded.

"We have to find a way to get Shisui out of here." Sasuke said "I won't have Naruto getting hurt anymore."

"I agree but without any evidence, we will have to do our best to keep both you and Naruto safe." Itachi said. "I think there is a chance that this plan has been in motion for some time now, and both of us were blind to how evil both Shisui and Sakura truly are."

"You work on keeping Naruto safe" Itachi told him "I will find all the evidence I need to put him and Sakura away, while keeping you safe."

Sasuke sighed and allowed his head to drop into his hands. All he wanted was some peace, so how long would this situation with his cousin and his ex girlfriend keep going on. Would Shisui be able to pull off his plan or would Itachi and Sasuke manage to be able to keep Naruto safe?

 **Here is another chapter, hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz**


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